In this series, British Baker talks to people from across the baking industry to find out about their career path, what their job involves, and the latest trends that are shaping their work.
We’re looking to showcase a diverse range of talent and job types across the industry, so if you’d like to be involved, please email dan.riley@wrbm.com.
Name: Eve Bushell
Age: 28
Job title: Brand Manager
Company & Location: SSP UK & Ireland - Millie’s Cookies (office in Camden, London)
Education: Psychology BSc (Hons), University of Sussex
Tell us about your career so far:
I’ve always worked in marketing, starting with an internship at an agency supporting B2B client campaigns before moving into digital marketing for a children’s indoor play centre. I then joined a premium deli in London, learning how to bring a food brand to life online. Each role gave me a different perspective on how brands connect with their audiences, and those experiences have been invaluable in my current role managing brand campaigns and partnerships for Millie’s Cookies.
How would you describe your job in a sentence or two?
I shape and deliver the brand vision for Millie’s Cookies, making sure our campaigns connect with customers, grow sales, and build long-term brand love. My role is about balancing creativity with commercial focus, turning fun ideas into successful campaigns that deliver a consistent customer experience whether engaging with Millie’s in-store or through our online store.
What does a typical day look like for you?
No two days are quite the same, but usually I’ll be collaborating with a range of teams, from creative and operations to supply chain and commercial, making sure everything runs smoothly.
For example, this week alone I’ve been managing celebrations for Millie’s 40th birthday campaign including media and social media gifting alongside in-store and online promotions. Then, I’ve been on site at our online factory, planning how we handle orders and maximise sales during our seasonal campaigns. I even helped out with icing some of the orders, although our icing experts are much more talented and really make our personalised giant cookies feel special (such as the London Marathon design).
“The priority is always making sure our customers are delivered value for money and a consistent Millie’s experience”
Finally, I ended the week on a high by taste testing and naming our cookie characters for Halloween. Our NPD team are great at coming up with new flavours and designs and, having now seen and tasted them, it’s hard not to spoil the surprise of what’s to come!
Tell us about a challenge you’ve faced recently:
One of the biggest challenges we’ve been navigating is the rising cost of ingredients, which has affected the whole industry. For us, the priority is always making sure our customers are delivered value for money and a consistent Millie’s experience whatever or wherever they buy without compromising on quality. It’s meant working closely with our teams to rethink how we develop, innovate, and operate so that we absorb cost pressures behind the scenes as much as possible without this being passed onto the customer to ensure value for money and quality remains high.
What have been some highlights of your career?
A real highlight has been working with national brands to expand Millie’s brand awareness in fresh and exciting ways. For example, we joined forces with Slug & Lettuce in the summer to collectively celebrate our 40th birthdays. Our brand personalities were a great match with opportunities for cross-pollination of customers and products (such as a Millie’s Cookie cocktail in their bars and special 40% discount codes), that meant we could both access new audiences while celebrating our heritages in style.
Our 2024 Christmas campaign with That Christmas on Netflix was also really fun to be involved in, blending the magic of the film with the joy of our products. Working with brands of this size and notoriety is special and has really inspired me to think big to take Millie’s to the next level.
What’s a common misconception about your role?
A common misconception is that brand management is just about the “creative” side and coming up with fun campaign ideas. While that’s definitely a big part of what I do, the role goes far deeper. A huge amount of time is spent on commercial strategy, analysing data, and working cross-functionally with teams across operations and supply chain to make sure campaigns actually deliver results. It’s about balancing creativity with commercial thinking.
What advice would you give to young people entering the baking industry?
Stay curious and be open to learning from every part of the business, from the craft of baking to the commercial side of how products reach customers. The industry is fast-paced and customer behaviours evolve quickly, so adaptability is key. Most importantly, stay passionate about the product as when you genuinely care about what you’re offering, it shows in the brand experience.
Interested in a career in bakery? Check out Foodmanjobs for the latest vacancies
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